Sen. Murray: “I will continue listening to their concerns, sharing their stories, and fighting for strong investments that will help make health care more accessible, more affordable, and higher quality for people across Washington state and the country.”

(Longview, WA)– Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, traveled through southwest Washington state this week to sit with families, doctors and providers to hear their experiences and learn more about how access to affordable, high-quality health care has impacted their lives and communities. Days after helping lead her colleagues to defeat the disastrous Trumpcare bill and announcing upcoming bipartisan committee hearings on health care, Sen. Murray made stops in Tacoma and Longview to hear directly from Washington state families and share their experiences with her colleagues in the Senate as they begin work to shore up the individual insurance markets and improve health care for everyone. According to the Governor’s office, under Trumpcare Washington state would have $4.3 billion less per year to cover health care and Medicaid related expense by its full implementation in 2028, a shortage that would risk coverage for 600,000 Medicaid recipients, 24,000 veterans and families, and access to life-saving services for 22,500 seniors and disabled individuals.

“Patients, families, doctors, and providers across Washington state reached out to me and made their voices heard last month to beat back Republicans’ Trumpcare plan that would have changed Medicaid as we know it and raised coverage costs because they saw how it risked care for the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Sen. Murray. “As a voice for our state in the United States Senate, I will continue listening to their concerns, sharing their stories, and fighting for strong investments that will help make health care more accessible, more affordable, and higher quality for people across Washington state and the country.”

On Monday, Sen. Murray visited Tacoma Community College to meet with members of Tacoma-based nonprofit Partnerships for Action Voices for Empowerment, or PAVE, and sat with active duty servicemembers and military veterans with medically-fragile children to discuss their experiences accessing life-saving care, including talking about the challenges they face meeting their children’s’ short and long-term medical needs while also navigating frequent relocations, and sharing their concerns about how deep cuts to Medicaid proposed by President Trump, which are a major pillar of Trumpcare, would hurt their ability to care for their children after separating from military service. Sen. Murray then traveled to Longview on Tuesday to visit PeaceHealth St. John’s Medical Center and tour their opioid use disorder clinic to learn more about how they are combating the opioid epidemic in Cowlitz County through medical treatment. After the tour, Sen. Murray heard from doctors and clinic staff about the local impact of the opioid crisis and discussed their ideas for how the federal government could better support patients and medical professionals’ working to end opioid abuse.

In addition to her visits in Tacoma and Longview, Sen. Murray also made stops during the week to help dedicate Tacoma Housing Authority’s newest affordable housing development, the Bay Terrace, celebrate the rehab of the Columbia River’s Jetty A near Ilwaco’s Cape Disappointment, a critical investment in the Columbia River’s waterway infrastructure that supports commercial and recreational activity throughout southwest and central Washington state, and commemorate the grand opening of the Portland VA’s newest primary care clinic for veterans in Vancouver.